Yamaha YH5000SE orthodynamic headphones (HP-1 successor)

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by 9suns, Sep 19, 2022.

  1. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    Know about them thanks to @Vtory's profile post.
    https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20220918-2457605/

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    I love how it looks, resembles a modernized all black Qualia 010 with an orthodynamic driver.
    What is very interesting is that Final Audio reportedly hired Yamaha (and Sony) engineers to develop the D8000, so this was probably made by the same people that developed the D8000.

    According to the above article, they want to price it around 400-500k yen (3-3.5k usd in Japanese domestic price, 4k in NA maybe).
    Weight is only 320gr and should come with two different earpads. It's still in prototype stage according to that japanese article.

    Ngl this has lots of potential to sound amazing, very excited to see this and hope to hear them one day.
     
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  2. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

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    It does look like the Sennheiser HD800's and the Qualia had a great looking, kinda freaky, baby. I personally love the looks.
     
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  3. nithhoggr

    nithhoggr Author of the best selling novel Digital Jesus

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    It's definitely nice to see Yamaha getting back into the audiophile headphone game...my beloved (and heavily modded and dampened) YH-1's sound more or less like an LCD-2C with much better treble (and are the main reason I ended up returning the LCD-2C when I bought one), so I'm really interested to see what they can come up with nowadays. I'd seen a post yesterday on the headphones subreddit of a guy claiming to be in touch with someone at the show where they were announced, but as far as I saw the guy he was talking to didn't get to listen to them. Though he did say that some people did get to audition them for 15 minutes, so I wonder if there's any listening impressions somewhere on the Japanese-language Internet...
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    USD is strong. This is something SBAF funds should be spent on.
     
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  5. nithhoggr

    nithhoggr Author of the best selling novel Digital Jesus

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    And the Yen in particular is really weak.
     
  6. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    It definitely looks like someone moved Bane's mask from his mouth to his ears but I like it! Very very curious how this performs.
     
  7. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    (Alert: speculation) I like how the pads are more normal compared to the D8000's, which leak a lot more sound by design and depend on the driver making tons of bass to start with (with higher distortion, limited excursion and lower headroom as a tradeoff) but always get's linear/elevated bass response indepentently of seal in return.

    This could mean that the sound is very different to the D8000 irrespectibly of frequency response and the mids could be something very special if well tuned, because they can use a more responsive, lower qts driver with less mechanical losses due to the more conventional earpads.
     
  8. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

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    Does the Final D8000/Pro have the same circular-style driver?
     
  9. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    Yes, both are orthodynamics (planars with concentric ring magnets). Also both are heavily influenced by the Yamaha HP-1 and probably developed by the same people.
     
  10. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    Not sound impressions per se, but very interesting info. Copy/pasting english google translation:
    https://online.stereosound.co.jp/_ct/17571781

    "At the headphone festival, I asked the person in charge of development about the particulars and difficulties of this model.

    To begin with, he was fascinated by the presence and originality of Yamaha products of the 1970s. Under such circumstances, he was inspired by the planar magnetic field type technology used in the HP-1 and planned to install it in high-end headphones.

    The development of the YH-5000SE took a long time of six years, and the development of the planar magnetic driver was especially difficult. It is said that the HP-1 driver had a relaxed and soft tone, but with the newly developed driver, we aimed for a reproduction that is familiar to the ear and highly responsive so that today's music sources can be sufficiently reproduced while retaining that charm. there is

    As a change, HP-1 supported the diaphragm at the edge and center, but this time it has been changed to support only at the edge. However, it seems that there were problems such as not being perfectly round and bending the center.

    With the YH-5000SE, we repeatedly made prototypes starting from the driver molds, and also verified the manufacturing process, realizing a diaphragm with the expected performance. Over the course of three to four years, the mold was made more than ten times, and the diaphragm was made more than 1,000 times.

    The diaphragm is sandwiched between a material called a micropore damper, which is said to be mainly used to control the low-frequency amplitude of the diaphragm. Normally, felt and non-woven fabric are often used, but in the YH-5000SE, this material is used because it has less loss in the mid-low range.

    Another feature of the YH-5000SE is that it uses an open enclosure. The housing uses magnesium, providing lightness and robustness. The part that can be seen through the gap (the inner frame) is made of a material with air permeability called a rolled flat folded stainless steel filter, which seems to have achieved both the density and openness of the sound.

    This rolled flat tatami-fold stainless steel filter is finished by applying additional pressure to the material woven with stainless steel thread, and the strength of the press is also finely adjusted to achieve optimal breathability.

    By the way, the YH-5000ES comes with two types of ear pads: leather (sheep leather) and suede (felt). It seems that the impression of the sound changes subtly even with these two, so if you become an owner, please check the difference.

    Two types of cables are included, a 3.5mm 3-pole connector and a 4.4mm 5-pole connector (3.5mm on the headphone side). Both use silver-coated OFC as the wire material, and by specifying the weaving method, it seems that consideration has been given to bring out high S/N and sound density.

    It is said that the YH-5000SE is difficult not only to manufacture the driver but also to assemble it because it is a product that is packed with such attention to detail. From this point, the company's seriousness toward the YH-5000SE can be seen."
     
  11. Lurker

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    They must have had some serious problems in late development. The design-patent for this was filed in 2019 so I would guess it was mostly finalized 3 years ago: https://patents.google.com/patent/USD905003S1/en?oq=us+d905003
    When I first saw the patent I thought they were going to make a dynamic but I'm glad they went through the hassle of creating a unique fully open ortho.
    Unlike the Final D8000 the Yamaha doesn't fix the diaphragm in the center, in addition the diaphragm looks to be concentrically corrugated. I would assume that their driver should get some pretty good bass extension although the small size and lack of center termination could cause some distortion (linear and non-linear).
    Really hope this won't be another pioneer se-master 1, beautiful build and design with peaky treble and overly bloated bass.
     
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  12. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    Agree. I'm way more interested in this than things like the Pioneer or Sony cans (MDR-Z1 and such.)
     
  13. Drakkard

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    The driver looks very closed at the center, a bit concerning.
    Looks the same as used on HD800. Wondering where I can order that one, eh
     
  14. Tiradentes

    Tiradentes New

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    Is the headband adjustment reminiscent of the AKG K361?

    Those are some nice deep cups! judging by the photos comfort doesn't seem like it will be an issue
     
  15. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    Some release details.:
    - December
    - 450000 yen, which is approximately $3200 USD pre-tax and shipping.
     
  16. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

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    Last edited: Nov 18, 2022
  17. sp33ls

    sp33ls Friend

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    Yamaha also placed a slight premium for the rest of the 5000 series here in the USA.

    I doubt there will be any tangible differences between the Japanese and US versions... If I decide to pull the trigger, I'd probably just order them directly from Japan.

    The sensitivity, impedance, and 50mm driver are interesting, though. I really hope they're not dry or lean in their sound signature.
     
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  18. AllanMarcus

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  19. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    Yamaha YH-5000se now at your local Crutchfield: $5000

    If you're someone who bought a Final Audio D8000 Pro then you're someone who can afford the Yamaha which looks to be an evolution in design so I can see the Yamaha selling easily enough. Not me though, I can only afford vintage Yamaha orthos and only the common models.

    I just noticed the headband support is a lot like the ones on the vintage Yamahas which is a very comfortable setup. Cool.

    edit: credit @Vtory for the Yam update
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2023
  20. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    Great pricing model to include it in the name. Much user experience (/s).

    Remember when planar magnetics were the affordable versions of electrostatics? What happened to that
     

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